Get Ready for the Malta Poker Festival on Oct. 29 to Nov. 4

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Oct 14, 2019 5 min read Last updated Oct 15, 2019

The Malta Poker Festival returns to the luxurious Portomaso Casino for a week of exciting poker action on Oct. 29 to Nov. 4.

The nonstop poker affair will feature tons of tournaments, cash games, and player parties with festival organizer Ivonne Montealegre bringing her special well-known brand of hospitality to each player. Montealegre is notorious for her poker festivals in the past and was recently named the Women’s Poker Association International Affairs Director.

PokerNews Covering the €500,000 Guaranteed Main Event

While the schedule features many exciting tournaments, the MPF Grand Event on Oct. 30 to Nov. 4 sticks out the most. PokerNews will be on hand to cover this €550 buy-in event that boasts a huge €500,000 guarantee.

The lofty guarantee is merely a place holder and will likely be smashed if last year is any indicator when the event attracted 1,366 entrants to generate a €662,510 prize pool.

Italy's Emanuele Onnis made MPF history last year after becoming the inaugural champion of the MPF Grand Event after taking it down for a cool €150,000.

This year's Grand Event is expected to be even bigger. Many players have secured seats and packages via satellites and promotions at MPF's online partners including Betsson, Videoslots, Intertops, Juicy Stakes, and PPPoker.

In addition, there have been many satellites held at Portomaso Casino with more to still come including €60 satellites taking place during the festival. Players can potentially qualify for as little as €6 via the Gozo Flash Satellite where one out of every ten players will win a seat to a €60 satellite.

The Grand Event boasts an amazing structure with four opening flights on Oct. 30 to Nov 1. The popular big blind ante format will be utilized throughout the event speeding up play by providing more hands per blind level. Players start off with 30,000 in chips and blinds increase every 45 minutes during the first three flights and 20 minutes for the final turbo flight. Unlike other tournaments with a similar buy-in, reentries are limited to one per day during the eight-level late registration period.

Players able to find a bag on any of the opening flights will compete in a deeper structure in subsequent days. Day 2 on Nov. 2 will feature 50-minute blind levels before the blinds increase to one-hour in length for the remainder of the tournament on Nov. 3-4.

Other Schedule Highlights

While the Main Event is what PokerNews will be paying the most attention to there will be many other amazing events held during the Malta Poker Festival.

With Montealegre's new appointment with the WPA, one should expect something special for the ladies during the €100 Ladies First! on Nov. 2. Another fun event with the same reasonably priced €100 buy-in will be the Halloween Special MPF NL Holdem on Oct. 31. Many of the players will compete in costumes as the MPF will be awarding special prizes to what they judge as the three best costumes in addition to the prize pool.

Other exciting side events include the €150 Irish Super Hold'em (Nov. 1), the €250 Hendon Mob Championship (Nov. 2-3), the €1,100 MPF High Roller (Nov. 2-3), the €170 MPF Bounty Knockout (Nov. 2), the €340 IPC Deepstack Turbo (Nov. 3), the €120 APAT Maltese Championship (Nov. 3-4), the €220 PLO Knight Crusaders (Nov. 3), the €150 MPF Survive and Win €1,000 (Nov. 3), the €200 MPF Win The Cross (Nov. 4), and the €70 MPF Last Chance (Nov. 4).

For those looking to take a break from tournaments rest assured there will be plenty of cash games running around the clock during the festival.

Players can expect a true poker holiday at the MPF. In addition to tons of poker options, Montealegre rolls out the red carpet for each of her players and acts as a personal concierge.

"The MPF sets to be very special," Montealegre said to PokerNews. "We consider our customers to be partners in our mission to make the best poker event in Europe. It especially gives me a warm feeling when I hear stories of players, friends, and their families, all planning their yearly trip to Malta this November. We are eagerly waiting for all of you! Expect an organized and comfortable poker festival with a week featuring a great variety of poker tournaments and cash games to choose from, all with significant prize pools."

In addition, players will be treated to plenty of parties including the Opening MPF Drinks at Portomaso Sports Lounge on Oct. 31, the Opening Players Party at Tiffany's Champagne Bar on Nov. 1, and the MPF Player's Party at Club Level 22 on Nov. 2.

2019 Malta Poker Festival Schedule

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